Anything You Want to Be explores the collision of a teenager's
dreams with social expectations and sex-role stereotypes. In a series
of vignettes, a high school girl finds that, despite her parents'
assurance that she can be "anything she wants to be," reality presents
another story. It was one of the first independent films of the early
women’s movement to explore the external pressures and the more subtle
internal pressures a girl faces in finding her identity.

As a filmmaker, Liane Brandon has been dedicated to exploring social
issues, particularly issues that are important to women. She began
making films in 1967 as a way to engage students in an inner city
school where she taught. In 1972, Brandon, Julia Reichert, Amalie
Rothschild, and Jim Klein found New Day Films, a now successful and
honored institution in the film community. For years Brandon was a
professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she taught
media/film studies and filmmaking.

NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.